How to develop analytical thinking. How to develop analytical skills

11.10.2019

The modern world is overflowing with information. Each object or phenomenon can be named (and the name will have a lot of synonyms and concepts related to it in meaning), measured (according to a number of principles, on different scales) and taken into account (repeatedly). And then an object or phenomenon can be compared with others based on this variety of characteristics and dimensions...

As a result, without multiplying entities (the number of objects and phenomena is large, but finite), we can observe an endless wave of information generated by them. If you think that the solution to the problem of information overload is to ignore everything uninteresting and unimportant, then analytical skills are probably not your strongest suit. If the abundance of information inspires and intrigues you, you believe that information is never superfluous, you just need to put it into a system and everything will immediately come into harmony, moreover, you already have a couple of ideas on how to systematize what seems like a tangle to others incoherent information - it seems that you are a natural analyst, and working with information is your thing.

At one time, man escaped from the natural environment, duplicating it in his consciousness. The invention of speech as a unique way of preserving experience and transmitting impressions set man apart from other mammals and allowed him to make a leap forward in his development, overtaking all his neighbors on the planet once and for all. Today is unique in that we are experiencing a new stage in human development in the accumulation, transmission and processing of information, and the leading role in this process is occupied by people with analytical abilities.

Think about it: until recently, any human action was a step into the unknown, and all that he could rely on was a little personal experience and the tradition that had developed in his area.

Oral folk art tried to convey the experience of generations with the help of legends and fairy tales, but the information in them was given in such a coded form and so distorted from centuries-old retelling with alterations that only the wise and dedicated (or those who look for deep meaning even where the author did not intend it). Printing was invented relatively recently (for the first time in the 10th century in China, then in medieval Europe); people began to join reading (and thereby the experience of mankind) on a large scale much later (at the beginning of the 19th century in Russia, about 21% of men were literate and no more 13% of women, despite the fact that literacy was understood as the ability to read in different ways). Now in the pocket of every schoolchild there is a phone, the power of which exceeds the capabilities of NASA at the time of sending a man to the moon, and any student can take advantage of this opportunity to learn everything about everything through reference and information resources on the Internet (or ignore this advantage and continue to “post” “funny pictures” ).

It is the accuracy, precision and scrupulousness of analytical people that allows most of us to use computer programs and Internet browsers without thinking about how exactly it works. If you are one of those who are interested in the hidden sides of the movement of information, it is likely that analytical abilities have become an inclination and influence your choice of activities.

The analytical type is characterized by the ability to perceive and retain in memory significant amounts of information expressed in words, signs or symbols, and the ability to focus one’s attention on symbolic material. The analytical type’s special view of symbolic material presupposes that he sees the encoded information extremely clearly, critically; he grasps the system and meaning of the material better than others.

For him, a written sheet of music is music, which he can appreciate even on paper; huge accounting forms, densely packed with numbers, do not cause his eyes to wander or his attention to wander - he sees relationships and contradictions, and is able not only to quickly find an error, but also to understand what kind of accident caused it, a geographical map for the analytical type is the key to understanding the area, for him it will not be difficult to remember the route, because for him it is not a set of signs that need to be remembered and retained in memory by effort, but a coherent information that fits naturally and logically with what he already knew.

In childhood, an analytical type student can be recognized by his special, serious attitude to rules and instructions. He, unlike his more frivolous peers, not only remembers all the “dos and don’ts” mentioned by adults, but can also justify every prohibition or impulse. He himself breaks the rules extremely rarely, because when testing the system for strength, he experiences much more discomfort and anxiety than fun and excitement.

Most people with analytical abilities retain their adherence to rules into adulthood. Many of them are not only extremely law-abiding themselves, but also encourage their friends to do the same, occupying the position of “voice of common sense” in the company of their comrades. Some representatives of this type find themselves in professional activities related to compliance with rules, protocols and instructions; for example, such people are excellent at office work, searching and systematizing legal information, and working with important documentation.

Those with analytical skills often read a lot; their entertainment is somehow related to the consumption and processing of information. For example, many of them love crosswords and puzzles. If a representative of the analytical type likes cinema or music of a certain direction, he watches or listens to huge amounts of artistic material, becomes an expert in his favorite genre, often systematizes his impressions (compiles ratings and catalogues, develops systems of comparative characteristics), and such people are also prone to systematic collecting.

When working with sign systems, there is a place for both humor and creativity, but they, as a rule, are of a narrowly professional nature. Translators create puns that make fellow translators smile, programmers leave special messages in the code for fellow programmers. In essence, those with analytical abilities represent the vanguard of modern humanity, and there is more mutual understanding between representatives of this type than between analysts and representatives of other types.

Drawing an analogy, we can say that it is just as difficult for a person with analytical abilities and corresponding developed skills to communicate with people ignorant of sign systems and not interested in them as it is for a person who loves reading to be among illiterate people who do not think about learning at least alphabet. This contradiction, as well as a deep misunderstanding of why others behave irrationally, often creates difficulties with communication and social self-realization for people endowed with analytical abilities.

If you are thinking about a career in the field of collecting, analyzing, processing and communicating information, ask yourself a number of questions:

Is it natural for you to concentrate for long periods of time, or are you a lively and active person?
If you have written an essay, are there high chances that you will find all your mistakes and shortcomings in it from the first reading and correct them before the teacher starts checking it?
Can you briefly and accurately, indicating landmarks, tell a person how to get to a place he has never been to, or after your explanations is it more reliable to ask someone else for directions?
Do you have your own system for storing personal belongings, books, disks, or do you prefer to dominate the chaos?
Can you always quickly remember how you solved a problem and restore your train of thought if you did not record the solution in writing?

Activities that will help you develop analytical skills: mastering programming languages, studying foreign languages, systematizing interesting information (creating an expanded catalog of a collection of books, films, music albums, etc.), working with databases, mastering various computer programs, solving non-trivial mathematical problems problems, cryptography.

In order to analyze sign systems, it is necessary not only to have the appropriate abilities, it requires special psychophysiological and personal traits. But, be that as it may, motivation plays a decisive role in whether you will be successful in this area. If this is your path, develop in the right direction and reach professional heights. A person can achieve a lot if he does exactly what he is passionate about.

S.O. Kropivyanskaya

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between analytical and critical thinking? Unfortunately, most people do not see much of a difference here and therefore do not fully exploit either the possibility of a critical attitude to reality or the potential of analysis that underlies logic.

Meanwhile, by understanding and developing these intellectual tools, we gain the ability not only to understand the world more deeply, but also to transform it more effectively! How exactly do these intellectual processes help our brain?

Criticism VS Analytics

Critical thinking helps us:

assess whether the event actually took place,
make sure whether the information received can be trusted and to what extent,
find out whether a given phenomenon, object, subject or situation is useful or not for us,
draw a conclusion, a conclusion and give your assessment.

In other words, critical thinking helps us form an opinion or belief about certain information. Critical thinking can be conditionally called evaluative.

In turn, thinking analytically means:

understand the essence of the phenomenon;
understand cause-and-effect relationships;
be able to decompose a complex problem into its component parts;
compare probable solutions to the problem and choose the optimal one.

We use our ability to think analytically when we are required to break down voluminous information into separate “pieces” and, moving step by step, understand its essence and logic. Analytical thinking can conventionally be called rational, logical.

But how to develop analytical thinking?

Developed analytical skills are useful to us both in everyday life and in professional activities.

A highly qualified specialist, regardless of what field he works in, must be able to:

quickly identify the main and secondary information in incoming information,
solve complex problems,
find strengths and weaknesses in the event that happened,
identify opportunities and limitations,
draw reasonable conclusions and conclusions,
make decisions based on statistical data,
design your activities in accordance with your goals,
divide the process into stages.

Let's play!

Let's look at special games to develop analytical thinking.

Puzzles. It is usually recommended to do puzzles for mental training. But, if you really strive to develop your attention and ability for mental analysis, it is better not to assemble puzzles, but... to make them yourself. This creative way of training is much more complex and therefore more productive for a person’s mental development.
Quest. If your family likes to spend time together, then a treasure hunt on a map would be a great educational activity for everyone. If this game is intended only for children, then you should make a map that is understandable for the child. But still, the best solution would be a joint quest, in which children and their parents join forces, reading the map and step by step moving to the place where the treasure is hidden. Reading maps requires mentally translating real objects into the symbols that represent them, and vice versa. That is why such a game is equally useful for those who draw and mark the map, and for those who will subsequently try to read and decipher this map.
Ciphers and codes. By the way, any ciphers can also very well act as trainers for analytical thinking. Comparing a cipher and its key, translating from one conventional language to another are wonderful playful ways of mental development.
Puzzles. Even if it’s just an ordinary Rubik’s Cube. But different variations of it have long appeared. The good thing about a puzzle is that it forces us to calculate our actions several steps ahead.
Board games. This may seem archaic to some, but a very effective means of developing the ability to analyze is traditional board games. However, we are not talking about those games where success is determined solely by luck, as, for example, in children's games with dice throwing, indicating the number of moves allowed to the player. The only truly useful games are those that require players to carefully consider each of their next moves, taking into account the actions of the enemy and, if possible, anticipating or even provoking the enemy to make certain moves. In such games the skills are honed:

recognize the motives behind the actions of others,
understand the logic of other people's actions,
anticipate the likely decisions of others,
choose precise ways to respond to the actions of others.

With Vikium you can develop analytical thinking online

Online games like Scrabble contribute to the development of the skill of quickly analyzing and evaluating information, as well as choosing the right wording or appropriate word.

And, of course, we should not forget about such a time-tested game as chess! Chess is one of those types of games that require the player to be able to analyze the situation on the board and develop a strategy for his actions, while trying to reveal the opponent’s plan. Thus, in addition to analytical thought, a strategic vision is also required.

But perhaps The brain gets its most effective workouts from our penchant for mental experimentation.. That mind-bending question, “What if...?” captivates not only scientists, but also all those who like to pamper their minds with unusual tasks. There are quite a lot of them, for every taste and different levels of complexity.

The most famous of these riddle games is the Prisoner's Dilemma.

However, it is no less exciting to try to understand, for example, an experiment called “Mary’s Room”. Maria is a scientific researcher, very talented and capable. She sits in a special room or cell and observes the world around her through special windows, which are arranged in such a way that Maria sees the world only in black and white. She knows everything about light waves and how color appears and changes. But, alas, her knowledge is exclusively theoretical. She had never left her room in her life. What will happen when Maria leaves the room and sees the real world in all its colors? Will she be able to recognize colors? For example, distinguish a red apple from a gray one? The essence of this thought experiment is to, after analyzing the situation, develop and justify all possible strategies for Maria to understand the world of colors.

And the experimental game “Ideological Turing Test” will not only entertain players, but will also serve as a worthy trainer for developing skills in analyzing the position of your opponent. In order to win, the first participant in the discussion must carefully analyze the argumentation of his opponent in the dispute and apply it in his speech so that the judges do not guess who the author of these arguments is - the first participant or his opponent.

More sophisticated scholars may be attracted to unsolved scientific problems. There are still unanswered philosophical questions that continue to haunt our minds. Trying to simply understand the depth of the question and enjoy the game of your mind trying to find the answer stimulates our brain activity.

Such questions include, for example:

Why is there always "something" but never "nothing"?
Why does our brain consist of atoms, but consciousness, which is a product of the brain, does not consist of atoms?
What gives us the right to claim that we and our entire world are truly real, and not a simulacrum, an illusion?
Do we have free will or are we some kind of zombie without even knowing it?
Are we capable of being objective and, if so, in what situations?

There are not so many talented analysts. But regular practice, even if it’s just games, will quite possibly help you become just a good analyst. Which, in principle, is not so little.

Analytical abilities are the ability to analyze various life phenomena, not freely, but strictly using logical methods, abstracting from small, insignificant details. Often, people endowed with talents do not use them at all in their real lives, while less talented, but more persistent people, as a rule, achieve success. Analytical abilities are also a kind of talent, and it can be developed by giving yourself food for thought.

How to test your analytical skills?

In order to test how capable you are of independent analysis, often all you need to do is take an analytical ability test - any of those that you can find on the Internet. You can test yourself in an easier way.

In ordinary life, when analyzing reality, a person needs to consider all the circumstances in parts, separately from each other, compare the options, their pros and cons, and only after that make a general conclusion. You can test yourself by taking any educational text and working with it for 10-15 minutes.

The main technique for understanding educational text is the ability to ask questions about it. If your analytical skills are at a high level, then you can easily: break the text into semantic parts, formulate its general main idea and obtain some new knowledge from it. If you managed to do this easily, then you have mastered analytical activities, and if difficulties arise, then this area is worth developing.

How to develop analytical skills?

Now you can easily choose one of the training centers where they are ready to teach you not only analytical skills, but also success, entrepreneurial art and self-acceptance. At such a training, you will most likely be offered tasks for analytical skills, and in the form of a situation to which you need to quickly respond. Training in this way is interesting, easy and gives excellent results.

However, such a center cannot be found in every locality. You can independently come up with various controversial situations and find ways out of them, as well as imagine how they are likely to develop further. This is best done in pairs with a like-minded person, the effect will be better and it will be more interesting to do.

In addition, you can take a very simple route and solve logical problems, which also contribute well to the development of analytical skills. For example:

By solving problems regularly, you will easily develop the desired personality quality.

We often come across the words “analysis”, “analyst”, “analyze the situation”, but does everyone understand what analytical thinking means? How does it differ from logical? Is it possible to develop it? What is it for?

There is definitely something good associated with analytical thinking. We usually admire a person with developed analytical skills; we consider him very smart, capable of solving any riddle. The hero of K. Doyle's books, Sherlock Holmes, is easily remembered in this context. He masterfully used both types of analysis: inductive (from the frequent to the general), as well as deductive (from the general to the particular). It was thanks to his ability to grasp the little things and grasp the cause-and-effect relationship that he achieved success.

Many people like to solve crosswords, some play chess, and there are those who like to read detective stories. Undoubtedly, all this develops the analytics of your thinking, but who needs this skill vitally?

The need for analytical thinking

Any person working with large amounts of information must be able to extract meaning, discarding minor details. From time to time we are faced with the need to build a forecast and assess the likelihood of emergency situations occurring. It is also important to have the ability to structure information as well as evaluate it. These skills are highly valued in logistics, economics, programming, and sales. That is why, in times of crisis, employers check candidates especially carefully, paying attention not only to resumes and work experience, but also checking the flexibility of mind, as well as other analytical abilities of job applicants.

It turns out that the ability to think analytically can be useful to any person striving to achieve success in life and career. Any task will be solved more efficiently, efficiently, and it will take less time to complete it, which is also important in the increasing time pressure. Consider a problem from different angles, do not rush to conclusions, and do not let yourself be overwhelmed by emotions - these are the qualities that a person with good analytical thinking possesses.

What is the difference between analytical and logical thinking?

Analytical thinking refers to a person’s ability to use logic to analyze information and draw conclusions. What does the analytical thinking process look like in practice?

It is necessary to break down complex information into simpler parts.
Analyze all parts separately, as well as the original information as a whole.
Recover missing information using judgments and inferences.
Outline several options for solving the problem based on the previous paragraphs.
Analyze each option and consider its pros and cons.
Choose the optimal solution.

Logic is certainly applied during these operations. But for analysis, the process of solving the problem and the result are important.

Is it possible to develop your analytical skills?

Of course you can. Analytical ability consists of two components: natural talent and purposeful development.

Most likely, it is the natural talent for analysis or the lack thereof that explains the traditional division into “humanities” and “technical” people. This division makes life easier for teachers: who would burden a humanities class with complex logarithms and problems? Or in the physics and mathematics team they reduce the role of literature and language learning, paying attention to specialized subjects. This makes life easier for teenagers too. After all, it is much easier to say: “I can’t solve mathematical problems because I have a humanitarian mindset” than to pore over a complex problem.

However, this approach does not subsequently become useful for children. It turns out that people in the humanities will be deprived of analytical abilities only because they were not developed in school. But school is a fertile place and time for studying science. This is where they get acquainted with the conceptual apparatus and learn to perform logical operations. It is up to the age of 15 that the ability to analyze is most effectively developed.

Of course, this does not mean that adults can no longer train to improve their abilities. It's never too late to start! Read about how to develop analytical thinking.

Ten ways to develop analytical qualities:

Study mathematics and physics, read popular science, educational and scientific literature.
Solve logic problems, puzzles, etc.
Play intellectually developing games (chess, quests and strategies - any that require the ability to calculate several moves ahead).
Get creative. Remember Sherlock Holmes's passion for the violin?
Talk to people. Let them be different: those who have developed thinking, and those who do not. There will be a great opportunity to compare.
Don't neglect quality fiction. A book is the best food for the brain.
As cliche as it may sound: analyze. Your behavior, the behavior of other people. Why do they do this? What consequences does this lead to?
Doubt everything, even the most obvious things.
Get busy planning your life. What will you be doing tomorrow? What needs to be done in a week? What do you want to achieve this year? Where do you want to be in 10 years? Process this information and analyze it. This will help develop not only analytical skills, but will make life more orderly.
Engage in discussions. Be curious, try to understand your opponent’s opinion, prove yours. This technique is great for training logic.

Don't focus on developing just one hemisphere. Our brain must work harmoniously. Admit it, being a versatile person is much more pleasant than being a dry analyst. Both hemispheres are interconnected: the development of one accelerates the improvement of the second, and overwork leads to mental passivity. Do not forget also about a healthy diet and rest.

And now I suggest you train your thinking using a real-life example (a real one, by the way).

1. The warehouse sends the client the wrong product that she ordered. 2. She sends it back, but not to the return service's address, but to the delivery service's address, which should not receive such returns. 3. The delivery service receives the goods and sends it to the warehouse, but at the same time loses the document confirming this. 4. The warehouse receives nothing, but has no evidence. Question: who is to blame and what to do?

I look forward to your answers in the comments. Be smart and train your brain!

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Best regards, Alexander Fadeev.

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Hello. My name is Alexander. I am the author of the blog. I have been developing websites for more than 7 years: blogs, landing pages, online stores. I am always glad to meet new people and your questions and comments. Add yourself on social networks. I hope the blog is useful to you.